Midterms got you down? Imagine this: instead of filling in a scantron, your midterm is playing a throwback to the 90s showcase with your classmates for your professors and all your friends. For sophomores in the USC Popular Music program, that’s reality.

Friday’s show featured 23 '90s songs performed by some the incredibly talented Pop sophomores, and they did not disappoint. Every student on stage contributed to this collaborative performance, whether they were behind a drum set or at the front of the stage singing their hearts out to the crowd.

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Each group was assigned a variety of tunes spanning genres and artists popular in the '90s, and had to adapt their personal styles to match. Sometimes this came across incredibly: all the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Radiohead, and Jill Scott tunes were spot on and flawlessly executed by their singers. Other times, singers struggled to represent the original style, but their bands picked up the slack and allowed every song to be a hit.

The crowd consisted of USC students excited to see their friends live, eager parents capturing their talented children’s exceptional growth in the program, professors beaming with pride in their students, and pop alumni reminiscing of their own showcases. Selections appealed to various crowd members, but my personal favorites were:

• All the RHCP jams. Every band member in each of these really sold them. Tyler Mann especially stole the show with his rendition of “Suck My Kiss”.
• Max Quilici’s cover of “Barely Breathing” by Duncan Sheik stood out among the first two bands.
• Usually covers of Whitney Houston’s “I Will Always Love You” are insufferable, but this was solid. Unfortunately, the blender took a solo during the emotional finish for those sitting in the back of the room.
• Alex Flagstad sang “She Talks to Angels” after holding his own on guitar all night and did not disappoint.
• The Radiohead songs slowed down the pace and showed off the range of all band members.
• Brook Aulani performed “Waterfalls” by TLC (including the rap) much better than the original.
• Both Jill Scott songs were impressive.
• “Say My Name” performed by Destiny’s Grandchild. You just can’t go wrong with this kind of girl power. Check it out: 

Some of the standouts on the instrumental side were the bassists, Nikki Brisson, Sean Alexander, Daniel Oldham, Emily Rosenfield & Rowdy Kanarek, who all brought their own unique stage presence to the show.

Bassists don’t normally get mentioned in reviews, but with their energy kept this generally overlooked position alive. This paired with the awesome opportunities for them to shine, like the awesome bass lines by fellow Trojan, Flea, from the Red Hot Chili Peppers, warranted a special mention.

While there was a short “Show Me the Meaning of Being Lonely” break near the top of the night, the one thing this event was lacking was boy band tunes. The lack of representation of our childhood heartthrobs’ choreographed moves and four to five part harmonies made sense with the instrumentation, but Kobza, Sampson, and the other Popular Music professors should definitely consider throwing some more of those crowd-favorites in next time.

Other than my longing for boy bands and pop stars from the Max Martin song mill era, the '90s vibe definitely worked well. Some performers even dressed the part – Brooke’s jacket winning the piece of the night.

Read more USC Pop here.

Reach Staff Reporter Jane Davidson here.